Page 75 of Mountain Hero

The guilt is overwhelming. “I should have been with her. It was too soon to let her go around town alone. If I’d just gone to her house?—”

“There was no reason to think she was in danger.” Ronan this time, from the third row of seats, a large medical kit beside him.

I make a sharp right, the tires screeching as I take the turn significantly faster than the speed limit. “One of Thomas’s friends?—”

“I’ve been keeping tabs on him,” Alec replies. “Thomas hasn’t made contact with anyone other than his public defender since he was arrested.”

“Who, then?” I’ve been wracking my brain ever since I got on the road. Could it be one of Thomas’s friends, possibly paid by Thomas to go after Winter? Or could one of them have decided they want her for themselves?

Like he’s reading my mind, Alec says, “Thomas doesn’t have any money. Not to hire someone to abduct Winter. And I’ve been checking on his friends. Two of them are gone. The other two are lying low. They have jobs, women, one has a kid. I don’t think they would risk it.”

“So if it’s not them, who?” My fingers tighten on the wheel as frustration surges through me. “An enemy from one of my missions? Someone I served with?”

“Once we get there, we’ll find out.” Gage dips his chin at the drone sitting in his lap. “As long as there’s an unblocked window, I’ll be able to get a visual on whoever took Winter.”

“We’re almost there,” Knox says. He’s been studying the satellite images of the property we’re headed to, planning the best method of ingress. From the quick glances I’ve gotten during our brief stops in Morrisville and Harwick, we’re headed to a remote cabin a few miles north of Greensboro. It’s surrounded by woods—no surprise this far north—which will make it easier for us to make our approach undetected.

“How much further?” I ask.

“Just over this hill, there’ll be a dirt road on the left. Then about a mile until we get to the driveway.”

Almost there.

Almost to Winter.

I need to focus. Shove away the uncertainty and fear to deal with later, when I’m back home, with Winter safely there with me.

And she will come home. There’s no other option.

Once I take the turn onto the dirt road Knox mentioned, I take a deep, steadying breath, set my shoulders, and say, “Okay, Knox. What do you think?”

He replies briskly, “So. The driveway is about half a mile long, surrounded by trees on both sides. The house is in a small clearing, maybe twenty feet from the tree line. I think we should park on the road just east of the driveway. Then we get into the trees, enough for thick cover, and let Gage do his thing.”

I cast a quick glance at Gage. “How long do you think you’ll need to get a visual?”

“Not long. A few minutes, tops.”

“Good.” I’m settling back into mission mode, mentally running through a range of possibilities and tactics. How many people are there? Where are their locations? Are there weapons? What kind? How many? Where are the points of access into the house?

“Once we get the visual, I think we should split into two groups to make our approach,” Knox adds. “We’ll head through the woods and hold position just to the east and west sides of the house. Depending on the ingress points, which we’ll know by then, we’ll move in from there.”

“Okay.” Up ahead, I spot the narrow driveway. It’s unmarked, with a set of tire tracks still fresh on the packed dirt. I pull off the road about thirty feet before we reach it and turn off the ignition, then turn around in my seat. “Is everyone ready?”

A chorus of low yeses follows.

“We’re going to get Winter out.” Fear is a distant memory. The only emotion I’ll allow myself now is absolute confidence.

“We will,” Ronan agrees from the back. He gives me a small smile of reassurance. “Let’s get her home already.”

Two minutes later, as we’re standing in the woods waiting while Gage pilots his drone, Alec leans in and says in a low tone, “Whoever took her has no idea what they’ve done. They have no clue who’s coming after Winter. They don’t stand a chance.”

My jaw tightens, and I give him a quick chin lift. “Right.”

Ronan comes up next to me, his footsteps silent even amid the blanket of branches and leaves beneath them. The medic kit is slung over his shoulder. “I’m going to take the supplies right up to the house. Depending on what Gage sees, I’ll either leave them outside or bring them in with me. But I want to have them close.”

My heart skips a beat. Please let her not be badly hurt. Please let Winter look just like she did in the picture.

“I’ve got it.” Speaking quietly, Gage’s gaze is focused on the screen of his remote control. “Two doors, one in front, on the east side; the other in the back, on the west. Four windows in the rear, two large and one small in the front. Looks like we should be able to make a flanking approach.”

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